Nothing in This World
by Lady Duck
Summary: Amy Valen's life is turned upside down with the news of her parents' divorce. When an incredibly beautiful and mysterious family move to Forks, can she turn to one of them for comfort, and can he face his own inner demons with their unlikely friendship?
1. Suspicions Confirmed

It was a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon

It was a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon. The only aspect of Forks, Washington that was unchangeable was the weather, which was the only part I hated. Except for the occasional day when the sun peeks through the clouds and it's warmer than the average 60 degrees.

This wasn't any ordinary Sunday though. It was the Sunday experienced by millions of young Americans grades K-12. The Sunday before the first day of school. Anxiety and anticipation of the upcoming school year always drove me nuts, even though every school year wasn't as bad as all the summer meetings with the guidance counselor suggested. Why should this year be any different?

I was entering the 11th grade. Not the bottom of the food chain, and high enough for seniors to take interest in you. Nothing I was worried about though; I've never been interesting, since Day 1 of high school.

See, I'm not that pretty. Sure, I can pass off as tolerable, but that's what my parents tell me. Then again, that's their job and obligation; it's what their supposed to tell me. That I'm the "most beautiful thing alive" or "too precious for words". I wonder how many kids, other than me, face the knowledge that we know better than our parents, despite when they say that they know what we're going through.

I'd lived in California until I was twelve years old, so my skin was dirtied to a light tan. It wasn't exactly noticeable where I used to live, but it definitely stood out here. I didn't match the porcelain white skin of almost every person here. And, just because the sun never came out, doesn't mean that my tone faded away. Dirty blonde hair, weird blue eyes that everyone always commented on, in good ways and bad. Freckles that spotted across my upper cheeks and nose. A total beach bum is what I am.

The only thing I can do exceptionally well is boogie boarding, but I gave that up the minute I found that I was given either one of three excuses as to why I couldn't claim any dominance in the ocean. It's too cold, it's raining, or the current's too strong. A few weeks after the move-in was completed I dumped my board in the nearest Dumpster.

The rain kept pounding against the windows as I was casually flipping the channels on our family TV. Soon the pelting water became too loud to even hear my thoughts, and _Full House _couldn't hold my interest anymore. I turned it off and escaped to my room, the only space in the house that I was adamant of the rule of privacy.

My room is your ordinary room. I probably have more books than teenagers my age, but I was never one for the whole extra curricular activities. Books were tossed haphazardly across my floor and navy blue bedspread. I do this weird thing where I'll start on a novel, but forget the next day and start another one. And since my parents aren't allowed in my room, they don't know how messy it is, so they can't remind me to put my reading material back on the shelves.

I picked up the one closest to my foot. It was worn out from reading it so many times, and the bounding was almost coming off. I'm afraid that my copy of _Pride and Prejudice _has seen better days.

I took my time in flipping through its content. I'd done all my school shopping the week before, so that was finished. All I needed was a backpack, some notebooks, and pencils, so it wasn't too consuming. I analyzed the conversations between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, especially when she vehemently refuses to marry him when he proposes the first time. To be honest, I find Elizabeth a bit too headstrong and outspoken, and extremely prejudiced. Then again, I'm neither of those things; I'm shy, quiet, and reserved. I believe that only my close friends and my family even know what my voice sounds like.

The time slipped away, and I looked up a hundred pages later to find that it was almost time for dinner. I hadn't heard the garage open in the past two hours, so neither Mom nor Dad was home from work yet. I took this as a sign to make myself some dinner.

I'm no extravagant cook, so all I could come up with was tossing a cheese quesadilla in the microwave. It obviously wouldn't help my figure at all, but what do I care? People who live their life based on how much they weigh need to find a better hobby.

I wasn't slim, but I wasn't a whale either. I was short for my age, only five foot four, and weighed 135 pounds, I think. The last time I was weighed was a year ago at a routine checkup at the hospital. Oh well, if my fellow classmates couldn't like me because of how I looked, that was just tough for them.

About thirty seconds later, the timer beeped to signal that my culinary masterpiece was ready. I ate slowly in front of the TV since my parents weren't home to scold me for doing so. Normally my folks don't condone eating in front of the television, but tonight was a special occasion in my mind. Besides, if I didn't make a mess, where's the crime?

My parents didn't get home until I was done showering and getting ready for bed. Mom said she had to work late because of a client's being late to an appointment. She's a defense attorney and represents the lowly crime rate of Forks. Dad's excuse was that a wave of customers at the department store in Port Angeles stormed in minutes before closing time, and such a business opportunity couldn't be missed. He was manager and oversaw all sales, employees, and a bunch of other stuff.

I was suspicious; they'd been late everyday the past eight days and used different excuses for each. I was curious about what was going on in my parents' lives. It definitely didn't give me a good feeling, and the fact that they were acting distant towards each other and not hugging and kissing anymore made me paranoid.

Half an hour later, Dad stepped in to say good night. He cracked the door open and I couldn't see his face. I stopped him as he was about to close the door.

"Dad?"

He stepped in as I turned on my bedside lamp. His eyes were somber and nervous. "Yeah?"

I sat up and twirled the fringe on my blanket. The following conversation was not one I wanted to have with him, and he knew it was coming.

"Are you okay?" I looked up at him as his face fell.

He sighed and came to perch on the edge of my bed. I kept my gaze on him until he turned to me with a defeated expression.

"Listen Amy, I've been having some issues lately with your mom," he began. I stiffened and felt my expression of discomfort freeze on my face.

He gave me a little smile, but it didn't reach his lifeless brown eyes. "But you already knew that didn't you?" I hesitantly nodded.

He looked down at his hands as he folded them over again and again, clearly unhappy. That was it; I was going to settle this once and for all.

"Mom, can you come up here please?" I shouted. Dad stared at me and started shaking his head. Too late. There was no way he was getting out of this without an explanation.

She arrived promptly, but froze when she noticed Dad. I patted the space next to him, but she took stance by my desk. She looked wary, as if debating whether I knew her problems or this was another matter entirely.

I straightened up and squared myself to both of them, my eyes flickering back and forth between them. "Okay guys," I stated, "what's going on?" It sounded stronger than I felt. I thought I would throw up if this took the direction I feared it would.

"Well, tell her Carol." Dad obviously didn't want to be the one to explain. I turned to Mom, mentally trying to prepare myself for the oncoming blow.

She looked disgusted. "I'm not going to tell her! I don't want her to hate _me _the rest of her life because I was the one who told her about the decision we made _together_!"

So it was true then. My doubts were confirmed. They were too wrapped up in their argument, so I put on a confused face and piped up, "Hate you? Why would I hate you?"

Mom suddenly fell to her knees and started weeping. Sobbing, actually. Dad took my busy hands and held them in his own.

"Because, honey, we're getting a divorce."

**A/N: Okay, so...what did you think? I've been itching to write a Twilight FF, but wasn't too sure about making it an OC romance or just stick to friendship and comfort. I think I've made the right choice since people haven't been screaming at me for changing the inpenatrable romance of Bella and Edward, and the other relationships of Twilight. Then again, they're not even in the story yet, so I guess I'll have to wait and hope that it doesn't happen! So, if you liked it, please review! I'm still not comfortable with flames and criticism, so none of that! Thanks again, and I'll update soon!**


	2. Emotional Breakdown

**I realized I didn't put up any disclaimer last chapter, so here it is!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Twilight. I only own things you don't recognize from Stephenie Meyer's novels!**

First days of school are ones that can be entirely avoidable, in my opinion. All that happens is you meet your new teachers, receive six different orientations about class rules, eat crappy cafeteria food, and realize that you should bring your lunch from now on.

I hid under my covers until the last possible minute this morning. Last night left me weary, and my eyes were red and puffy from crying so hard for so long. Thus, no sleep for me.

Divorce. An ugly reality that I now had to face. I had so many friends that would relay to me that their parents were divorced, but back then I could silently flaunt my parents' seemingly "perfect" marriage. Now, I was one of them.

I partly didn't want to go to school because my friends are all too perceptive for their own good. They'd notice my unusually sullen behavior and ask me what's wrong. If I told them, they would all swarm with condolences, which meant unnecessary attention for me. I've done a good job with keeping invisible for this long; my streak wouldn't be broken.

The only thing that seemed remotely possible was to fake happiness. But acting was never a skill of mine. All of them, Jamie especially, would see right through it.

Walking to the bus stop in the misty rain is something I've never adapted to. It never rained this much in California, and even though I haven't seen a dry beach in four years, the rain was hell. All my friends would look at me with the strangest expressions on their face every time I told them this, like I was crazy. This fact alone made me feel like an outcast.

This morning, something was different. I could feel it; like, something extraordinary was going to occur. The bus had arrived while I was thoughtlessly wondering, and was about to pull away before I snapped out of it and climbed aboard.

As the driver maneuvered onto the narrow street, a shiny silver Volvo drove by. By far, it was the nicest car I've seen in a few years. It outdid our rusted family station wagon by miles. That wasn't what caught my attention though. It was the driver.

He had to slow down his racing vehicle since the bus driver hadn't removed the stop sign yet. Through the windows sat the most beautiful, stone-like person I've ever seen. His face was scrunched in annoyance at having to slow down, which only accented his perfect, angular nose and forehead. There were more of them though. It seemed like there were five people crowded into the tiny car. Soon Mr. Bob pulled in the stop sign, and the Volvo raced away.

I was staring at the seat in front of me, thinking about him. I'd hazard a guess that his hair was blonde, and since his posture was so straight, he had to be tall. A voice in my head ordered me to stop wondering about him, so I pulled out my iPod.

Lots of kids in my grade were into the new groups and R&B and hip hop. I preferred rock and alternative, not Flow Rider, or whatever his name is. I listened to H.I.M. all the way there, switching off "Vampire Heart" before exiting the bus.

I craned my neck all around the parking lot, searching for him. Or anyone who looked like they resembled him remotely. I even tried to find the Volvo, but I guess under odd circumstances the bus beat them here.

Disappointed, I followed the crowd of students toward the maroon brick buildings of Forks High School. We'd just passed Building 3 when I was yanked out of line.

"Ohmigod! Amy! It's been too long! How are you? Where have you been all summer?" I was thrown into a tight hug, and slammed into my friend. Jamie Landon. I guess I hadn't done a very good job at avoiding any personal contact.

As soon as she released me, I clapped my hand over her mouth to stop the flow of questions. "Calm down Jamie. Deep breaths." I went along by breathing deeply to get her to do it.

Once she calmed down, she started again, but much slower. "So, what's been going on with you?"

"Oh nothing much. Just your average rainy summer." No way was I going to tell her. I have to keep up this façade as long as I can.

She persisted. "You had to have done something exciting!" I just shook my head.

"I mostly read the books on Mr. Berty's summer reading list. Oh, there was one book that I read, _To Kill a Mockingbird_, it was so amazing…" I babbled until I saw Jamie's eyebrows rise. She knew how I could talk endlessly about books, and made it a point to stop me if I got carried away.

"Uh…but enough of that. What happened with you?" I quickly changed the subject. Clearly this was a question she'd wanted me to ask.

"Okay, so I met a guy! A really cute guy! His name's Embry and he lives on the Quileute reservation and he's totally nice and sweet and everything you can imagine in the perfect guy! We went to the movies and on our first date he kissed me! I like him so much but my parents say I can't date yet! Isn't that totally unfair?" She paused, waiting for my agreement.

I hadn't been listening to her rambling. I'd been thinking about him, again. I just nodded and let out a mumbled, "Yeah" and let her continue.

She kept going all the way to first period English until Mr. Berty quieted her down by threatening detention. Jamie shut up immediately.

English is my favorite subject. I like to write short stories and poems, but no one is allowed to see them. I post them on a website for people to see and read. If anyone of my friends knew this, they'd never let me live it down.

Mr. Berty started by saying that he was giving a test next week on all the books on his reading list. A chorus of groans shook the tiny classroom. I felt smug; I'd done my homework this summer. Not one other person probably even attempted to look at one of the books.

He was just about to begin orientation when the door swung open. It was him, the Volvo driver. In the flesh. More beautiful and perfect in person.

Mr. Berty gave him a stern, disapproving look.

"Sorry Mr. Berty. My car broke down a few miles from here and we had to walk." Ah, sweet and melodious voice. What else could you expect from someone who looked like that?

Our teacher seemed taken aback with such an ordinary sounding excuse. It obviously wasn't what he'd expected.

"Oh…uh…of course, Mr. Cullen. Please take a seat next to Ms. Valen over there," he directed.

Oh crap. He was sitting next to me?! How do I look? Is my hair okay? I mentally checked over myself to make sure I was in tip-top shape.

Wait a second. What would someone like him want to do with someone like me? Why was I compulsively worrying over this? If he couldn't like me for me, what was the point of even trying?

He gracefully took the empty desk next to mine. Why couldn't I walk like that? It belonged to a model, not a high school student. He took a deep breath, but stiffened when he inhaled. Slowly turning to look at me, his eyes were full of…desire? Wanting? I think I detected a little hunger also…

Okay, he was seriously freaking me out more than any psychopath or pedophile could. I let my hair fall over my shoulder so he couldn't see me. Or rather, I wouldn't have to look at him.

The rest of English passed by without incident. Once the bell rang to signal the end of class, I stole a peek at him. Only he wasn't there. He was already out the door.

I looked for him in my other classes, but he wasn't in my Calculus, Biology, or Gym classes. By lunch, I was feeling extremely disappointed. All my friends noticed too.

Jamie was the first to speak to me. Tara and Hannah acknowledged me with a nod, while Victoria and Paige ignored me completely. I didn't care; I was too upset with this mystery boy.

"Hey Amy! Come sit with us!" She motioned for me to join her table. I held up my forefinger so she'd give me a minute. I weaved into the lunch line and bought a turkey sandwich with fruit and lemonade.

As I sat down, I caught a glimpse of the Cullen boy, with four other people who were as pale and gorgeous as he was. A boy that could pass off as the Incredible Hulk sat across from him, with a blonde who was possibly more beautiful than my classmate. She was leaning on him, which suggested to me that they were in a relationship. I hope they're not related…There was also a less bulky boy who looked younger and more vivacious than all of them, with bronze hair that was disheveled. Next to _him_ sat a tiny little girl that was too skinny to be true, but she didn't look anorexic, with spiky black hair.

Every single one of them was pale with purple shadows under their eyes. I knew the long-term effects of sleepless nights as well as they seemed to.

Jamie caught me staring and brought me back. "Amy, are you looking at the Cullens?"

I flushed with embarrassment. Crap, she caught me! I guess it wasn't as subtle as I thought it was. I'll never admit it though.

"No." I stubbornly shook my head. So hard that my hair whipped across my face. Almost in sync, the blonde Cullen boy froze leaning forward, as if he was just about to tell his siblings something. He turned his head and gave me a side wards glance, filled with all the emotion I saw earlier.

I quickly looked down at my lap while twisting my fingers, nervous and guilty for being in awe of them. Jamie shook my shoulder, whispering, "They're all looking at you, you know." I glanced up, only to verify that what she said was true. I was met with ten pairs of eyes, all directed at my face.

"Shut up. You'll attract attention." Curse Jamie. Curse the Cullens. Curse my stalkerish tendencies.

"Oh please, if anyone in this school needs attention, it's you. Why do you always hide from everything?"

"I don't hide from everything! And I don't need attention," I argued.

Jamie looked puzzled. "Don't your parents give you any?"

Ah, my parents. Hearing that brought back my hurt and pain from the divorce news. So much that I started crying. Jamie looked scared at seeing her friend break down like this.

Silence filled the cafeteria, with exception for my sobs. The entire student body turned to look at me with curiosity burning in their expression. It was too much. I grabbed my backpack and tore out of the death chamber as fast as I could. It would have been easy for someone to catch me; I'm not that fast.

I ran to the parking lot and plunked onto the curb. I sobbed, my shoulders heaving heavily with each cry. No one came to comfort me. Not even my friends. Yeah right; some friends they were.

I could never tell them. It would make me seem like a damsel in distress, begging for someone to rescue me. I did NOT need rescuing. I would fight through this on my own, help or no help.

The front doors of the cafeteria screeched open, but I didn't turn to see who it was. Most likely this person wasn't coming to help me, to comfort me. If I toned down the crying, maybe they would ignore me.

Soon I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I didn't look up. I didn't want to face whoever this was. He or she sighed and sat down next to me, hoping that would catch my attention. Still nothing.

Then, the person spoke up. "Hello." Definitely male. And only one male could sound so angelic and musical.

But I wasn't in the mood for this. I curtly nodded and asked, "What do you want? The show's over. I don't need any applause."

He chuckled. "I'm Jasper Cullen. Are you alright?" He ignored my question entirely.

I didn't say anything. I just wanted him to go away.

"What's your name?" He wasn't going to give up easily. Might as well give in; it's not like I wanted to go back and face all who witnessed my emotional break down.

"Amy Valen." He nodded.

"You're falling apart," he mused. Not a question; he said it like it was common knowledge. After all that, it probably was.

"Only on the inside. I've had a tough couple of days."

"Care to enlighten me?" I gave him a questioning look.

"You really want to know all my problems?"

"Definitely. I want to help, if I can." He gestured for me to begin.

I looked up at his face. He had striking gold eyes, not containing desire anymore, but compassion and concern. He was serious. Jasper Cullen really wanted to help me.

"Okay, well I just found out last night that my parents are getting a divorce," I started. A gust of wind blew, making me shudder. I didn't want to say anything else.

"Is that all?"

"Yes, that's all," I spat. "Or were you expecting something that deserved the theatrics back there? You make it sound like it's not that big a deal."

"No, no! I just meant, you seem like the type of person with more than just one problem. But a divorce, that's difficult. Are you okay?" He'd appeased me. But I still didn't want to talk anymore. I shook my head, telling him that I didn't want any more conversation. Jasper understood and didn't ask anything else pertaining to my issues.

"Do you need a ride home?" It came out of the blue, and surprised me that I nodded without thinking.

All of a sudden he swept me up into his arms and carried me to the Volvo, like I was light as a feather. I couldn't protest because it knocked the breath out of me when he curled me into his stone chest.

No conversation was necessary. Jasper seemed to already know where I live, but I was too confused with the offer of a ride to even think about how much that fact would freak me out if I was normal. Instead, it was kind of flattering.

Jasper pulled up to the driveway and switched off the engine. We sat there for a few minutes, neither wanting to break the silence. I guess Jasper was getting a bit uncomfortable, because he hurriedly said, "Well here we are. You should probably get inside."

I nodded and whispered, "Thank you. For everything." I slowly climbed out of the car into the cold misty afternoon. I gave a little wave to Jasper as he backed out of the driveway.

I expected him to go in the direction of school, seeing as the day wasn't over yet. But instead, he went towards Port Angeles. This confused me greatly. He probably had an errand to run or something. Nothing bad.

There was no need to go inside; Mom and Dad weren't home yet. I just sat on the old, rickety porch swing and rocked back and forth for a while.

Who was Jasper Cullen? Why was he so interested with me and my problems? Weirdest of all, why did I even care?

**A/N: I hope you liked this! I've had so many ideas spouting for this story, so I've been writing like crazy! If you liked it, please review! If not, then if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all! I'll update soon, so please keep reading! Thanks!**


	3. Luck Can Change

**For my disclaimer, check out Chapter 2! Thanks!**

* * *

I got into a heaping amount of trouble for leaving school unauthorized in the middle of the day

I got into a heaping amount of trouble for leaving school unauthorized in the middle of the day. Ordinarily I wouldn't be capable of something like that. For that reason my parents felt the need to punish me harder than if ditching school were a habit.

Somehow I convinced them everyday for a week that I was sick with a fever and sore throat. I can't imagine a kid in the world whose swallowed as much Tylenol and Motrin as I have. For the effect of a fever, I took a washcloth that had sat in hot water and left it on my forehead for ten minutes. Granted, I had to wake up extra early every day to accomplish this, but the desired outcome was worth it.

I've had no contact with any of my friends. I think they're afraid of me, or afraid I'll pull another stunt like I had a week ago. Not even Jamie, who I considered to be the best friend I'd ever had. Can't say I was right.

Jasper didn't even come to visit. I thought he of all people might have some sort of inclination to see me. Plus, I had a million questions I wanted to ask him. Most of them I don't think he'd answer, but I wanted to inquire anyway.

So, I spent my time reading old Nancy Drew mysteries. My reading time was kept uninterrupted, except for one afternoon when Mom came to give me news. Apparently a family had moved down the street into the abandoned house that hid in the forest. Said a couple with five adopted teenagers. I wasn't interested enough to care though.

When I did return to school, I was greeted with ostentatious attention. People left and right bombarded me with their curious questions. I doubt any had real sympathy for me; they just wanted something new to gossip about.

The worst was Jamie. She stuck herself to me with no intention of letting go without an explanation. I have to say that there were times when I admired her for her persistence, but now was definitely NOT one of those times.

Jasper was still in class and at school, and he took the time to talk to me and ask about my well-being. He was the only person who reeked of sincerity, and I was happier to answer him than anyone else.

In English especially, he was really talkative. Mr. Berty often had to scold him for not shutting up while I was let off the hook. Obviously the teaching staff had heard about it; they all gossip as much as teenagers.

One day, he opened conversation with a new direction. I'd just seated myself in my desk, and as I was taking out an essay that was due, he swiftly sat down and stared at me intently. I met his stare, confused.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" I unthinkingly lifted my hand to my cheeks, feeling for any trace of mascara not on my eyelashes.

He chuckled. "No. I was just debating whether to ask you something, and I must say the better half won. Now, if it doesn't trouble you, I'd like to hear more about you."

"What about me don't you already know?" My eyes had widened at this new angle. We'd never once talked about Amy the person, only Amy's feelings.

Jasper pondered this. "Well, I want to know about your personal interests, your family, anything about you that I don't already know."

I nodded. "Okay, ask away."

"What is your favorite sport?"

I sighed. This was clearly a boy, and what are all boys interested in? I shouldn't have been surprised. "Boogie boarding."

His forehead creased. "I've never heard that one before. I assume it's a sport played in California?"

"You don't play it. It's more like…you ride it. It's a board that you lay on. When you go to the beach you swim out and turn back to the waves, and when you catch one, you ride it to shore."

"Wow that sounds amazing! How come you don't do it here?"

"How did…"

"I go to the beach a lot, everyday almost, but I never see you there," he interrupted.

"Oh. Well I'm sure you've noticed the weather conditions here. They make it impossible for any water sport, which sucks. It's the only thing I'm good at." My shoulders slumped at the memory of losing the only part of me that was worthy of praise.

I looked up at Jasper, and there was a strange twinkle in his eye. Like he knew something I didn't. "Oh, I'm sure there's plenty more than just that."

I never got a chance to ask him what he meant. Mr. Berty called for us to pass up our essays, and we didn't speak the rest of English.

When we were let out, every student seemed excited beyond belief. I searched for the cause of it, until my eyes fell upon a single paper sign. Homecoming Dance This Friday at 8 pm! Student council must have gotten special permission to put these up during first period, since it was there before school started. I remembered that today is Tuesday. Damn it, why?

Not that I've had any aversions towards school dances back in California. It's just that I'd been able to get a date back in Carlsbad. I wasn't too sure about my luck in this constantly gloomy town. Not one boy, except Jasper, even bothered to talk to me this year. But once all students witnessed my scene, it's like all these boys followed me everywhere. Especially this sophomore, Mike Newton. He's like an over helpful golden retriever; I swear this kid won't leave me alone!

I groaned. Everyone else was exuberant in their happiness. It contrasted well with my state of somewhat depression. Nobody paid close enough attention to find the difference. Other than Jasper, that is.

He'd somehow snuck by my side as I stared in horror at the sign. I crossed my arms in defeat. I knew school dances would never go away, so why didn't I just not go? Because I'd rather have the feeling that someone wanted to go with me, to be with me. Who was I kidding? Despite my recent high school stardom, who really liked me for me? No one did.

Jasper must have sensed my sullen change of mood. He lightly placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it, for comfort I think.

"Why are you so adverse to the dance?" he asked lightly. "You look like you want to hit something right now."

"Because I do," I mumbled. It was true; even though I was normally prone to violence, this recent turn of events brought up that urge. I had to internally battle with myself to keep from mistakenly hurting someone.

"Why?" I didn't think he'd heard me.

"Because I'm not a fan of dances. Mostly since no one ever wants to go with me," I sighed.

"How can that be?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," he struggled. "Um…you're…uh…very smart, and talented, and pretty, and interesting, and…"

I laughed. "You must have been talking to the wrong girl these past few days, because I'm not any of those things!"

He suddenly glared at me for joking; he must have been serious. I shrunk back into the hood of my jacket, wishing for the moment to end.

"Don't tease me. I'm serious." His golden eyes just turned pitch black. I've never seen any pair of eyes as dastardly beautiful, and dangerous, as Jasper's. They must change colors according to his moods. I deducted that when he was happy, his eyes were golden. When he was mad, well, I just found that out for myself.

"Oh. Sorry," I quietly apologized. He shrugged and ran his hand through his shiny blonde hair.

"You know what though? I've studied you ever since I've gotten here, and you seem…now, please don't take this offensively, but I think you have extreme self-confidence issues. Not to mention that you let your emotions weigh you down."

I stood rooted to the sidewalk. He had it in a nutshell. I was well aware of my lack of confidence, and it did feel like I let my emotions govern me and how I felt all the time. I just looked up at him and raised my eyebrows.

"Wow. Sounds like you've got me all figured out."

He smiled. "Not completely. There are still many things about you that I still need to discover." I put my hands on my hips and squared my shoulders to him.

"And how do you propose to do that? You can't follow me everywhere, analyzing what I say and do," I pointed out. He nodded thoughtfully, as if trying to find a solution. I noticed as he stood there that his eyes had retained their molten gold color; he wasn't angry with me anymore. I sighed in relief. Soon he faced me like an idea just popped into his head.

"No, not everyday. But, I can watch you this Friday night." My eyebrows came together in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Would you…" the bell rang for the start of second period. I hadn't realized that we were the only ones standing there, and the fact that I was late for class made me curse under my breath.

"I'll see you later, okay? Tell me later!" I shouted over my back as I ran to Calculus. My teacher gave me a disapproving stare as he watched me crash into the classroom and slide into my seat.

I didn't see Jasper again until lunch, but even then I'd never talked to him at lunch. His family was…intimidating. Plus, the fact that they were all so perfect made me feel like an outcast compared to them. Although, they never really seemed to socialize with any other students.

I only bought a water today; I wasn't that hungry. After I paid the lunch lady, I started towards Jamie's table, until something tugged my arm and pulled me over to another table. I shrieked in shock at the sudden movement, but it was only Jasper.

"Sorry to scare you, but would you like to sit with me today?" I helplessly nodded, smiling like an idiot.

Once I saw that we were actually sitting with his fellow Cullens, the stupid grin was wiped off my face. I felt panicky, like they were going to kill me for intruding on them. But they just ignored me, even when Jasper sat me down next to the short, imp-like girl with black hair. He took his seat across from me.

"So, you weren't hungry?" he asked. I could tell he was trying to make me feel comfortable; obviously he was aware of how everyone avoided him and his family at all costs.

"No, I just haven't felt hungry lately. My Mom has all of a sudden turned vegetarian, so our house is packed with all this tofu and green leafy stuff. In other words, I haven't eaten steak in a week, but I've gotten used to the normally empty feeling in my stomach." I quickly shut my mouth to keep from more embarrassing babbling.

Instead, Jasper seemed interested in what I'd said about our newly-conforming vegetarian household. His eyes were sparkling, and he had this beautiful, angelic smile plastered on his face.

"In that case, would you like some of my…ah, I forgot I didn't get lunch today either." He looked around for some sort of edible item for me to chew on. I began to protest, and he held up his stone hand to silence me.

"Alice?" he called. The girl next to me turned her head. "Would you mind sharing your lunch with Amy here?"

"Oh no, that's okay…" I tried to deny acceptance of her lunch. She turned to me and flashed a dazzling white smile.

"Of course you can!" she squeaked. "Wow, you do look hungry! Here, go ahead and take all of it!" She shoved her lunch tray containing an apple and a slice of pizza towards me. I opened my mouth to say no thanks, but she shook her head.

"No buts, you're eating it!" I crossed my arms in defiance. Silence encased the three of us while Jasper and Alice waited for me to gobble up the food. It went on for five minutes before I threw up my hands and said, "Fine, I forfeit." I lifted the pizza, took a bite, and grimaced at the slimy cheese that made the cafeteria food so unpopular.

Jasper laughed at my expression while Alice giggled. I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Glad I could provide entertainment for you," I remarked sarcastically.

Alice openly laughed. "So are we! I'm Alice by the way. You're Amy? Such a pretty name!" I blushed. No one had ever told me my name was pretty, other than my parents of course.

I looked back at Alice and saw that she kept eyeing me, her golden eyes following my…clothes? She glanced up at me and saw that she was caught and giggled.

"Oh, you should let me take you shopping! I can give you a complete makeover, and buy you some cool clothes that will totally flatter your figure! Ooh, I can already see what color highlights would go great with your hair…" she trailed on, almost looking dreamlike in her trance of figuring out how to transform me from Plain Jane to Heidi Klum.

"Um…that's okay; you don't need to do that…" I said shyly.

"I won't take no for an answer! I'll pick you up on Thursday night and we'll go shopping! Trust me, you'll need it. I'm already excited!" she squealed and gave me a hug that surprised me. Then, something the Hulk said caught her interest and she turned away to listen to him.

I looked back at Jasper, who had been watching Alice and I plan the shopping trip. In truth, I was glad that I seemed to have found a girl to do girly things with. Jamie would never invite me on shopping sprees; she'd rather spend the time in her room making out with her autographed poster of Zac Efron. Gross, what if she really did that?

Jasper still had the placid, wondering look on his face. I remembered he gave me that look when he'd asked me what my favorite sport was. The curious, debating look.

"What?" I asked.

"No one will ever deny Alice a shopping spree. You're the first I've seen even attempt to protest it," he mused.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, she just tends to go overboard. Often she'll try to pay for everything, even if it's not hers."

My eyes widened at how much money she must have to pay for everything. "She can do that? I won't let her, that's not fair! I'll bring some of my own money. Granted, it's not that much, but I'll survive with it…"

"Please Amy, just let her do it." He pleaded, and it felt like my bones were turning to mush. Jasper just had that effect on you, like he was dazzling you.

"I can't!" I protested. "My parents will be suspicious at how I could afford new clothes!"

"Amy, just please, don't fight her. She's really excited, and I'd hate to see my wi…I mean, my sister, crushed because her new friend wouldn't accept her friendship…gifts, per say."

I sighed. "Fine, but now you're subjecting me to horrendous amounts of guilt. How's that fair?"

He chuckled. I had a feeling that he had a solution.

"Well, this is where our unfinished conversation comes in. I'm going to make it up to you," he declared.

"How?"

"Well, would you like to go with the homecoming dance with me?"

My jaw dropped. Jasper Cullen, insanely smart, funny, caring, and good-looking, just asked me to the homecoming dance. What kind of transformation did I go through this summer to bring this on? I'd already considered it a change when I got him to at least talk to me, but now he was asking me to a dance. On a date? I tried to remember if anything special of mine grew over the summer… Suddenly the bronze-haired boy laughed hard, and slapped the Hulk on the back. Did one of them say something funny? I shrugged and turned back to Jasper.

"Um…look Jasper…I'm not so sure that's a good idea…" His face fell and I immediately felt terrible.

"No, no! I meant, are you sure you want to? I understand you're doing this to make me feel better, but you're willing to put yourself through that?"

"Why, should I be worried?" His features regained a teasing smile.

"I don't know. I haven't danced in years, since I was eleven, actually. I don't know if you know what you're getting into. And…" I hesitated. I chewed on my lip, not wanting to say what was coming next. Jasper patiently waited for me to continue.

"And, well, how will I know if you mean it? To be honest, I'd rather just stay friends with you, and not be put in a situation where you feel differently…" There I go again; my incessant babbling.

"That's all?" Jasper laughed. I looked down at the cap on my water bottle and busied myself with twisting it on and off.

"Amy, look at me." I obeyed instantly. "Listen, this is purely a friendly offer if you want it to be. I don't want you to be in that sort of situation either, if it makes you feel uncomfortable. We'll just go as friends, period. Nothing else. All right?"

I smiled at his willingness to go along with how I felt, and his compassion for my feelings. "All right! Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm going shopping with Alice; I don't have one dress in my closet!" I lightly changed the subject.

"Funny how things work out that way, isn't it?" he mysteriously teased. Yet, he sounded like he was telling a joke. There was a double meaning to his words, but at the moment I was too happy to even bother trying to figure it out.

Then the bell rang, and everyone shuffled out of their seats and out the doors to sixth period. As I started to stand up, Jasper grabbed my hand and gently squeezed it, saying, "See you later." I nodded and pulled out of his chilling grasp. I'd never thought before how intensely cold his hand was. And when Alice had hugged me, her temperature broke through the thin material of my sweatshirt, and it was also surprisingly freezing. I was reminded of this when Alice pulled me into another hard, cold hug and said, "Yay! My new shopping buddy!"

As I walked to World History, I smiled at how my luck had suddenly changed. Now, I had friends who seemed to know me better than I knew myself, better than Jamie and Hannah and all my other friends. I don't even know if I could call them that anymore. But I did know that I was happy. It was like my parents were still happily married.


	4. Inside Jasper's Mind

My brother Edward always told me it was healthy to ditch school now and then. Normally I'd scoff and go to class like the good student I am, but today, I decided to take his advice. Her scent had clouded my brain and logic, so much that I couldn't breathe without breathing _her_.

Once lunch ended I asked Alice to come home with me. I had just asked Amy to the dance to keep her under surveillance. Thank God she only wanted to be friends; if she had been thinking otherwise, I don't think I could've resisted. Besides, I could not do that to Alice, after she'd sought me out all on her own, and cared for me these past few decades.

We left the Volvo for Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie to take back while Alice and I ran home. Within two minutes we walked into our foyer, not so much out of breath. Esme looked up from the sofa where she'd been watching a movie. She raised her eyebrows and curiosity burned in her eyes, as it did when it transferred into my body as well.

"Sorry, Esme. I had to come home; school was becoming unbearable," I pleaded. She shook her head.

"Jasper, whatever it is, you have to face it, not run from it. Is it someone at school?" she asked innocently. Her eyes betrayed her when they flicked over to Alice and she nodded, which I saw out of my peripheral.

"As if you didn't already know. What has Alice told you?" She bit her lip; if her pale white cheeks could have flushed red at this moment, they would have already.

Alice butted in. "Jasper, don't worry. I saw something a few days ago, but I was talking to Esme the other day and it slipped out. She knows now." She gave me a reassuring smile, but I felt anything but.

"What did you see?"

Silence. I'd have to make her feel something unexpected to make her tell me. Or bribe her.

"Alice, I'll give you half a million dollars if you tell me right now what your vision was. Or maybe I should just ask Esme?" I turned to her, knowing that Esme couldn't keep a secret as well as the rest of us.

"No Jasper, I'll tell you." She hurriedly caught my attention. She paused and took a deep, unnecessary breath while I waited for her to continue.

She sighed. "I saw a girl, coming next year. Daughter of the Police Chief. She's going to change things and people, especially Edward. Next year will be a difficult time for him."

I tried to comprehend how all of this had to do with me also. "But, Alice," I interrupted. "What does that have to do with me and my control?"

"Jasper, don't you see?" She sounded exasperated now. "You're also going to have a difficult time. You're still young and new; you might lose control. But, the vision also gave me an idea…" She paused and looked at me with a twinkle in her light golden eyes.

"You see, your new friendship with Amy is very convenient for you. If you spend so much time around her, maybe you will become used to the constant struggle with your self-control. You won't be so inclined to kill this new girl when she comes. And, it will make Edward feel a whole lot better if he knew that his brother wasn't trying to kill his lo…friend." She smiled wide, like she just came up with a solution to end world hunger.

"Alice, you don't understand how much I want her blood!" The desperation was climbing to a new high. I was right and she knew it; she could never know how it feels to want to kill someone and yet be with them at the same time. I wanted Amy's blood badly, but I couldn't do that to her, or Alice. Carlisle, especially, would be extremely disappointed. I wouldn't put them into that situation. I will control myself!

"I know Jasper," she soothed. She started rubbing her hand in circles on my back, trying to comfort me.

"But, what you said is true. I'll spend as much time with her as possible. If it helps Edward in the long run, I can do it. How am I going to keep this a secret from her? I want to tell her Alice. She needs to know!" Alice took my words into consideration and tapped her index finger against her chin, thinking for a solution. Finally, she shrugged.

"I guess you'll eventually have to tell her. Like you said, she has a right to know."

**A/N: Okay, so if you didn't already notice, this chapter was in Jasper's POV. I hope it clarifies some questions you might have. And if you still don't understand, Alice is happy with Amy and Jasper's friendship. They are still married, and Amy doesn't come between them. All right, so I'll update soon! If you want more chapters, I'll need more reviews though! Nice ones! I only write for you guys, so I want to know that it's okay for you all out there! Thanks and keep reading!!**


	5. Shopping

**A/N: Okay, I just can't seem to stop writing! Ideas are pouring as we speak, and I just have to write them down! My parents are getting annoyed since we're on vacation, but I guess I can blame my dad for bringing his laptop. Well, now he knows what he can't do next vacation. All right, so please review if you like it, and check out the poll on my profile! It closes next Saturday, so vote vote vote! Thanks and keep reading!**

The next two days just flew by, much to my surprise and relief. Jasper had been asking me more personal questions, and I'd answered them as truthfully as I could. There were some that immediately made me blush tomato red; I'd leaked to him that I wrote poems and short stories, so he wanted to read them now. The first time I denied Jasper something he wanted was the worst.

Sitting with the Cullens at their table had become routine. I was introduced to Emmett, Edward, and Rosalie. Some of them even bothered to converse with me; Edward especially liked to discuss books. I'd explain a theory about one of my favorite novel characters, and then he'd do the same, some agreeing with mine, and others were polar opposites of mine.

Emmett is a person who likes to flaunt what he has. Muscles seem to be his most prized possession, and he often made a show of it. He is also the biggest flirt I'd ever met; every time he flexed his biceps at me, I'd blush, then Rosalie would glare daggers, and I'd blush even redder. Unfortunately, Emmett isn't one to pay attention in class, so if I ever have a question on an assignment, he's the odd man out.

Rosalie is the closest thing you can find to a pure goddess. She has the hair, the face with perfect complexion and bone structure, and a body any mythical Greek legend would kill for. Her only flaw was that her personality was extremely vain and self-centered. Most of the time I'm around her she whips out a mirror and stares at her holy beauty. What annoys me the most is that I wish, very deep down in my soul, I could be like her. Maybe I'd have the winning personality, but I'd also look like her.

Alice and Jasper are the most talkative. She always laces her arm through mine and keeps me close to her side. Best of all, now that I think about it, when she explains her ideas through clothing and accessories, I completely believe her. Alice also has a way of making me feel important, like my opinion matters and I'm special. Hearing those words from someone other than Mom and Dad shoots confidence through my veins.

My old friends now completely ignored me, despite my rising popularity with the most perfect people on the planet. I can't understand why they hate me so much, it's not like they had ever treated me like the true friend I'd been to them. Jamie was the worst. She couldn't stand to be within twenty feet of me. She never came over to my house anymore. Mom had lately been asking why, so I'd answer honestly and say that I had no clue.

Despite the overly-pleasing two days, it was now Thursday afternoon, and there was one thing that I'd been anticipating with anxiety and excitement. Alice's shopping trip.

She said she'd pick me up around five so we could make the drive to Port Angeles before the mall closes. I told Dad, since he'd been home early, that I was just going to grab a bite with Alice and not to bother to leave me any dinner. Aside from his consent, he also gave me a questioning glance.

"Who's Alice?" he asked.

"Just a friend from school. We're just going shopping for homecoming tomorrow." I shrugged like it was no big deal. Which it was.

"I don't know. We haven't even met her yet, and I'm not sure I feel comfortable with you going to Port Angeles without adult supervision." Alice had prepped me at school earlier that she was going to bring her father along to give an illusion of supervision. After introductions, she told me, he'd go back home and we'd go shopping.

"Dad, it's cool. She's bringing her dad along. Besides, I'm sixteen, it's not like I'll just get myself into trouble. You know me better than that." I could tell that at the word 'dad' he calmed down and was feeling more compliant with my plan.

"I know Amy. And I trust you, a lot. So don't give me reason not to, okay? That means no boys, alcohol, and drugs, because what does that spell?"

"Bad, I know." I sighed, exhausted already with the incessant lecture. The 'B.A.D.' was a family tradition that all my relatives have passed down to their kids. For the first few years it's kind of cute, but when you've heard it everyday for ten years, you start to tire of it.

The doorbell rang, and I jumped out of my chair to answer the door. Anything to release me from the parental torture Dad was exerting on me!

I opened the door to a blonde man, and it immediately struck me that he was gorgeous. And chalky pale. There were only a few people I knew with those same features, so I assumed this to be Alice's father.

"Hello. Um…you're not Alice," I stated. I could have smacked myself in the head right there. Obviously, this beautiful MALE god wasn't Alice.

He didn't notice my little blurt of realism and chuckled a lowly, musical laugh. I could see where Jasper inherited it from. "You're quite right. I'm Carlisle Cullen, Alice's father. Pleased to meet you." He smiled and a set of pure white teeth shone brightly at my face.

"Same here. I'm Amy Valen." I held out my hand to shake his, and he grasped it with his cold stone fingers. The sudden drop in temperature caused me to shiver.

I pulled my hand away quickly. Holding the front door open, I said, "Come on in. My father has been waiting to meet you." He followed my directions and stepped inside, revealing a very vibrantly dressed Alice in his place. Her tawny eyes were twinkling with excitement.

"Amy!" she squealed. Her body slammed into mine as she hugged me, probably not very tightly for her, but when your arms are hard as rock, any pressure feels like you're squeezing with all your might.

"Hey Alice." I quietly greeted her as she looped her arm through mine and led me into the family room, where Dad and Carlisle were already striking up a friendship.

I didn't want to interrupt them, but I really wanted to leave. I cleared my throat loud enough for both to hear, and Carlisle quickly stopped speaking. "Dad, this is Alice."

She bounced forward and grabbed Dad's hand, then vigorously shook it. "It's so nice to meet you Mr. Valen! I promise, we'll take good care of Amy, and she'll have so much fun!"

"Okay, introductions over. Let's go!" I quickly took Alice's hand and tried with as much strength as I could to pull her out of the house. She let me, but called over her shoulder, "Bye Mr. Valen! She'll be back around nine!" Wow, a four hour shopping spree. I had to be the luckiest girl alive. And the fact that Jasper had convinced me to let Alice pay for it all made me feel doubly lucky, and also doubly guilty.

Carlisle trailed behind us as we stopped in front of their car. Sleek and black, shiny and clean. Oh my God, it's a Mercedes! I've always wanted to just ride in one, and it looked like my dream was coming true.

Through the darkly tinted windows, I detected another person in the backseat. I thought I could trace Jasper's slim outline, so I faced Alice. "Why did you bring Jasper along? He's not supposed to see whatever dress we buy until tomorrow night!"

She looked puzzled. "What do you mean? I didn't bring Jasper."

"Well than who is that in the car, if not Jasper?"

"Oh, him! No silly, that's Edward!"

"And why is Edward coming exactly?"

"I figured that it would be good to have a guy's opinion on what you purchase, to make sure it would be good for Jasper." She smiled at my misunderstanding. "And we obviously couldn't bring Jasper with us; that would just ruin the surprise! Emmett wouldn't have lasted ten seconds in the women's section, so Edward was the best choice."

"Oh. Okay then." That seemed a simple enough explanation. A confusing one, but good. Alice swung the door open for me to slide in next to Edward. Luckily he'd taken to the other window seat so I could do the same and keep some distance between us. Carlisle smoothly climbed into the driver's seat, while Alice did the same next to him.

Carlisle turned around to face me. "Just so you know, we're going to drive back to our house, drop myself off, and then Alice and Edward will accompany you to Port Angeles. Is that all right?" I just nodded. I secretly wanted to see the mystical Cullen house, anyway. I glanced at Edward, who was tensed up and leaning as far as he could against the car door. Hmm, did I smell bad?

The second after Carlisle had backed down the driveway was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. He shot the automobile off at about 90 miles an hour; I was pushed into my seat while clutching my seat belt with life-threatening force. Alice and Edward sat as they were, unaffected by the sudden burst of speed.

We reached the Cullen property in another three minutes. If we'd taken my station wagon, the fastest we could have gone would be about 50 mph, and it would have been a twenty minute drive. I guess that's the difference 40 miles can make…

I almost gasped aloud at the structure we were driving towards. It looked so modern and angled with perfect proportions, and the serene forest surrounding it only added to its picturesque beauty. The entire outside was painted white, with a porch running around the first floor. A garden was planted directly beside the pathway to the front door, and I thought I could recognize daisies, Harrison's Yellow, freesias, and tulips. It was an astounding estate that Martha Stewart would be proud of.

I hadn't realized that we'd stopped until Carlisle opened my door for me. The cold Forks air hit me like a force of bricks, since the interior of the Mercedes was rather warm. Alice was by my side in an instant and led me up the porch steps to the front door, made of a dark polished mahogany wood. If the exterior of the Cullen mansion impressed me, then the inside blew me away.

It was so light and open inside with wall-length windows facing the road which we just came, and a few in the back by the kitchen. Like its counterpart, the insides were just painted white; it somehow illuminated the large room even more. Trim white sofas and chairs lined across a stone fireplace, and a grand piano was placed in the far corner near the kitchen. I'd looked over every single detail of this grand place until my eyes caught sight of a young woman lounging on an alcove bench, reading a book.

She noticed our entrance and sprang up to meet us. She pranced to Carlisle and kissed him full on the lips, then smiled lovingly at Edward and Alice. Once she came to me, the smile froze in place. "Carlisle?" She had a startlingly childish, soprano voice. "Who is this?"

"Esme, this is Amy Valen. Amy, may I introduce you to my wife, Esme Cullen." I held out my hand for her to shake; she hesitantly encased my hand with her own, gave it a quick shake, and let go. As my hand fell to my side, I couldn't help but notice how cold her hand was. A family gene, I deduced.

"Hello Mrs. Cullen. It's nice to meet you. I'm a friend of Alice and Jasper at school," I explained so she knew why a stranger just showed up on her doorstep. Her slightly golden eyes lit up with understanding.

"Ah," she said with a strange tone of realization. "So you're the girl that Jasper talks about so much. Well, in that case, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person Amy."

"Okay guys, time for shopping. I'll take Amy home later. Bye!" Alice chirped with desperation. Like the same tone I'd used to quicken introductions with my father.

She tugged me out of the room before I could let out a polite goodbye and quickly led me back to the Mercedes where she thrust me into the back seat again. Edward climbed into the passenger seat with Alice as the driver. I prayed to God that she didn't inherit her father's need for speed. However, I prayed too soon.

The same sensation overcame me like when Carlisle was driving, and all I could do was close my eyes and wish for it to be over. Luckily my wish was granted in five minutes, when I exited the Mercedes into the Port Angeles Mall parking lot.

I let out a sigh of relief, partly because I didn't want to spend another minute in that speed demon of a car, and because I'd been looking forward to this kind of experience ever since I was a little girl. I think Alice sensed what I was feeling and she hurriedly began to walk towards the main entrance while Edward and I trailed behind.

I was really surprised when Edward spoke to me the first time today. "You know, Alice's past shopping victims have later regretted this experience. I hope you know what you're getting into."

I shrugged at his warning. "To be honest, despite the fact that I feel immensely guilty for agreeing that she can pay for everything, I think I'm going to have a good time. I only hope that you don't get bored." I was teasing him and he knew it.

"I don't think I'll survive. I was forced against my will," he playfully sighed in mock fear.

"Don't worry; I'll protect you from harm's way. Alice won't be able to get through me!"

"I wouldn't be too sure," I heard him quietly mutter. I don't think he heard me, so I ran ahead to catch up with Alice.

The next three hours were the most interesting and exhilarating moments of my life. Since I had literally no money, I had never bothered to look inside stores like Coach and Macy's. My shopping sprees were strictly limited to Target and Old Navy. But shopping with Alice was definitely something I wouldn't trade for anything, mostly because of how excited and committed she was to fashion.

We stopped inside an extremely expensive-looking dress store where Alice started ripping different dresses off the rack.

"Alice, try the stuff that's on sale or clearance," I insisted. She just grunted and ignored my request. Once she thought that she had all the decent garments that this store had to offer, she pushed me into a dressing room with about twenty five dresses.

I went through the first seven and my hopes began to sink. What if I never found a dress that Jasper would like? It didn't help that Edward wasn't too into his job to give me his opinion. Soon I picked up a light blue halter dress that went down to about my knees. It was plain, simple, and I loved it. When I put it on, I cautiously stepped out of the dressing room to model it for my two friends.

Alice's mouth just hung open, which I took as a bad sign. It wasn't until I started to look down at my feet in disappointment that I heard Alice say, "Oh. My. God. Amy, have you looked at yourself?" I beamed at her, thankful for her blessing. Edward even bothered to nod in approval, which was a thousand times better than his shrug of indifference.

"I am a lifesaver!" Alice declared. "I think this dress was made for you Amy! Okay, now we just need shoes and accessories, and you'll be all set!"

"Really Alice, already, it's too much! I appreciate this and all, but screw Jasper, I'm not letting you pay for everything!" I stomped my foot to show how serious I was.

She just laughed at my attempt to stand up to her. "Amy, this whole trip will have been worthless if you don't just accept my offerings. This is me telling you that I'm your new best friend, and best friends buy each other everything. So, as your best friend, I'm using my authority to overthrow your decision." Alice had triumphed over my feeble attempt to protest.

"Fine Alice. But let's get the rest of the stuff and go home. Dad will flip if I'm not home in an hour."

"Don't worry Amy. I don't think getting home on time will be a problem."

"If you say so," I grumbled.

"Hey, why don't you head to the food court and get a smoothie? Edward will go with you, and he's got money. Plus, it'll be easier for me to buy everything if you're not there to disagree with my fashion decisions. Okay? So shoo!" She flipped her hands at me to get me to leave, so I followed her directions.

On the way I saw a bookstore, so I paused and asked Edward if we could go in there real quick. He looked much more pleased with this, and we made our way into the small and crowded shop.

I ran my fingers along the titles in the mystery section, sometimes pausing to wipe the dust on my jacket. After discovering that it only sold Nancy Drew titles that I'd already read, I moseyed over to the Classics section. I suddenly remembered that Mom's birthday was coming up in a few days, so I tore myself away from the whirlwinds of classical fiction and begrudgingly found the Romance titles. I noticed one that didn't look like any of the ones Mom already had, so I checked the price and then my small funds. Good thing I hadn't pushed Alice to let me pay; I had just enough money to buy the book.

Edward stood by the entrance of the store, silently watching me browse through the old volumes and relatively new novels. He raised an eyebrow when he read the title of what I was purchasing, but didn't ask until we were out of the store.

"No offense," he started. "But is that something you honestly want to read? You know romance novels are just numerous chapters of smuts."

"No, my Mom has a thing for these books. I don't know why, but she does, and her birthday is in five days, so I got it for her. Now I'm glad I let Alice pay for anything, and I don't feel as bad." I smiled at my good fortune as we strolled to the food court; from across the string of restaurants we saw Alice waiting impatiently by the smoothie counter.

"Well, I'm sure she'll appreciate the gift," Edward defended himself.

"Oh, I know she will. She's been talking about this book for weeks."

"Do you think, once your mother finishes it, that I may borrow it?"

I snickered. "You, Edward Cullen, want to read this, a romantic smut book?"

"No. But Esme has also wanted to read this. I was going to buy a copy for her, but I figured that you would be gracious enough to let me borrow it." Oops, I was way off. I was kind of relieved that Edward didn't want to read it; it would completely change all my views of him.

"Well, you figured well. The minute Mom puts it down, I'll give it to you. She forgets about all her books after she's read them once, so it won't be an issue."

"Good."

Alice had seen us and was midway through the dinner crowd. Over the heads of customers she mouthed, "Go to the entrance, I'll meet you there." Edward nodded and took my arm to lead me to the doors. His subzero temperature touch made me shiver; this was the first contact we'd shared, but it felt odd and out of place.

We met Alice holding five shopping bags. I checked some of the labels and gave her one of the best disapproving looks I could muster. "I know for a fact, Alice, that a dress, shoes, and maybe a few hair clips could NOT possibly take up five bags! What else did you buy?"

"Oh, you'll see," she smiled coyly.

We walked out to the car and slammed the bags into the trunk. The drive back was almost completely silent, and the speed didn't bother me as much as it had earlier. Alice broke it once to say, "Amy, I'm going to pick you up after school tomorrow and take you to my house so I can get you ready for the dance, okay?"

I'd barely been listening; it had just started to pour rain outside, and the hard droplets were pounding against the windows. "Huh?"

She sighed, exasperated. "Just be home at three tomorrow." I shrugged and let the quiet overtake again. I hadn't known how tired I was until we pulled up to my house and Edward was shaking me awake.

"Wake up sleepyhead," he teased. "You're home, and may I say that it's been a pleasure."

I just grunted and reluctantly slid out of the warm Mercedes into the hazardous rain pellets. Alice was standing by my door, bags in hand. "See you tomorrow Amy!"

"Okay. Thanks again, Alice." The freezing weather had woken me up momentarily, so I tried to dodge the oncoming rain to the front door. By the time I was under the porch, the black Mercedes had already sped away.

I slowly trudged into the living room, where Dad was watching CNN.

"Hey kiddo. Have fun?" All I could do was nod, and he understood that I needed sleep right now. "Okay sweetie, good night."

I threw the bags of clothes and Mom's book in my closet and fell on my bed with all my clothes on. My eyes closed almost instantly as I drifted into a most welcome sleep.

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	6. Irritable Questions

**Sorry for the break, I had the inevitable writer's block!! Aargh, it was frustrating, and on top of that my family was here every single day so I couldn't have time to think about the story! So anyways, here's Chapter 6, so enjoy! Oh, and please review I love hearing from you guys!!**

I woke up to an empty household in the morning; Mom and Dad had both left early for work again, so I continued through my rout

I woke up to an empty household in the morning; Mom and Dad had both left early for work again, so I continued through my routine and poured some Cheerios in a bowl. I let the milk soak through each individual round piece of grain, and started chewing slowly. About halfway through I heard a faint car horn honk. I ignored it at first; it most likely wasn't for me. Until it honked again. And again. I hastened to the window and threw aside the vintage lace curtains; there was a silver Volvo parked outside.

But whoever had driven it wasn't seated in the still-running car anymore. I stared hard at it, trying to find the whereabouts of the mysterious driver; then the doorbell rang.

I hastily dumped my half-eaten bowl of cereal into the sink and didn't bother to rinse it out. I ran to the door, since whoever was on the other side began to get impatient and just keep their finger pressed onto the doorbell as it rang continuously. I opened it just as Jasper was about to start banging on the door.

"Oh," he stepped back, surprised at the door's abrupt opening, "there you are. I was beginning to think that you'd already left for school."

"Jasper! What are you doing here?" I was shocked to see him. I'd thought that he'd be at school, not standing on my front porch.

"I'm here to be your chauffeur today." He grinned at my confused expression as I tried to piece the puzzle together. "I'm driving you to school, Amy."

"Oh! Okay, sure. Just let me grab my backpack…" I turned to pluck my book bag off the easy chair and felt a sudden rush of air by my side. But when I reached down to grab it, my hand clutched at emptiness. I looked back at Jasper, who had a kooky smile on his face. His hand was outstretched, holding my backpack by the straps.

I let my mouth hang open, glancing back and forth between Jasper and the item in question. "How did…"

He just shook his head. "Nope, not now. We're going to be late, so come on!" He trotted down to the Volvo while I slowly walked through the misty fog. He was holding the passenger door open for me, and I quietly plumped down on the seat.

"Amy! Long time no see!" I heard a high pitched voice yell. I flipped around to see Alice and Edward sitting in the backseat, both smiling and showing off teeth that a dentist could never produce. I felt a pang at my self-esteem; I could never smile like that. Some people just have it all.

"Hey Alice. Edward," I nodded at him. He nodded back.

"Where's Emmett and Rosalie?" I asked. I knew that the car would have been too small to fit all of us, but I wondered anyway.

"Oh, they took Rosalie's new convertible. She wanted to bring it to school to show it off." Did I hear a hint of disgust in Jasper's voice? I mean, of course Rosalie was vain, but wasn't Jasper used to it?

"Hmm," was all I said.

The rest of the ride was filled with Alice's constant chirping conversation. Luckily it didn't require us to speak too, just listen. I was listening with as much concentration as I could, but I was losing my mind to the thought of Jasper and the incident earlier. The way he put off my question made it seem like he knew something that I didn't. Oh well, he will tell me. I wouldn't let him get off so easily.

We pulled into the Forks High School parking lot before I knew it, and sure enough, half of the student body was crowded around a single space. I didn't care about cars enough to go see for myself, so I just followed Jasper to English.

As we sat down, I remembered to thank him for the ride.

"You're welcome."

"But you do realize that you'll have to take me home too, right? I don't want to inconvenience you and Edward and Alice."

"You won't be," he protested. I just shrugged and dropped the subject.

"So, what was the deal with earlier?" I innocently asked.

"What do you mean?" Jasper had stiffened in his seat, and his eyes had become considerably darker. Bingo.

"Well, I know for a fact my backpack was in the chair by the door, and when you picked me up, I turned around, and it wasn't there. Somehow, you had it with you when you didn't even come inside. Care to explain?" He snarled under his breath and turned to the front of the class; Mr. Berty had begun today's lecture on MLA format.

This hurt that he ignored me. I didn't think the situation was even that big of a deal; he'd treated it so light heartedly this morning. I knew it. I'd gone psychotic! That had to be the most logical and reasonable answer.

When Mr. Berty's back was turned, I tried to catch Jasper's attention; he wouldn't even acknowledge my presence. It was like I was attempting to talk to a total stranger, one who would look at you and ask, "Do I know you?" My attempts were useless. I just slumped into my desk and listened to my iPod all period. Mr. Berty was animate in his teachings so he didn't bother to check for students that weren't paying attention.

I'd turned up my music so loud that when the bell rang, it echoed in my ears and pounded the insides of my head. It didn't compare to the ache I felt in my heart. I should never have asked such a stupid question. I shouldn't have given in to my insatiable curiosity. Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut?

I stared at Jasper as he put away his notes and strode out the door, without one look my way. Damn it, I wanted to start bawling. A few telltale tears slipped from underneath my eyelids before I could restrain them, but I pulled myself together so the tides couldn't escape. The school didn't need a repeat of my emotional breakdown. And on the day of the Homecoming Dance. As if high school needed more unnecessary drama…

The rest of the morning was a blur. I wanted so bad to run to Jasper and throw myself at him and scream apologies, just so he might talk to me again. I couldn't bear it if his musical laugh and sweet sigh was taken from me. This hurt more than the news of my parents' divorce.

I fully expected lunch to be different than the past week. I know Alice, and possibly Edward, wouldn't mind my joining their exclusive table; Emmett would just be happy to show off the results of his body building exercises. I think he can lift about two hundred and fifty pounds now, or so he's told me, but I believe he underestimates himself.

All morning I'd just listened to my iPod. All my teachers were too daft to notice I was slacking off, and they hadn't required me to do any tasking class work. The rock rhythms patched my heart a little bit, but remembering the reason why the music was pounding in my head in the first place ripped it open again.

The second Gym ended, I raced to the parking lot, fumbling for my car keys in my backpack. I blindly searched for the familiar faded brown station wagon, and was dumbstruck when I couldn't find it. That's when it occurred to me; I'd been given a ride to school. I had no means of escape. That wasn't good enough for me to accept. I had to get out of here.

Out of the corner of my eye, I become aware of a flashy blood red convertible parked near the Administration building. It seemed to be too ostentatious, and expensive, for Forks; I could only guess it was Rosalie's car.

I walked over to the glossy vehicle. Despite what I thought previously, I was entranced by it. I just wanted to touch it, to see if it was really as smooth as it appeared to be. I positioned myself near the trunk to look at the model; it was a BMW. I had to admit, anyone that lived in the epitome of comfortable living that could afford to own a BMW must be pretty high up there.

"It's nice, huh?" A girly alto voice startled me from behind. I twisted around to see Rosalie, in all her beauty and glory, standing behind me. I couldn't detect any vanity in her simply obvious statement; I felt she just fancied to make small conversation. Although, Rosalie wasn't one for small talk, so that made me wary.

"Yeah, it is. You're very lucky," I complimented her. She smiled, like she knew it.

"Unfortunately, this is the one time I can take it to school. Carlisle doesn't like it when we force our toys in everyone else's faces, but today was an exception."

"Hmm. Well, from the looks of it, everyone didn't seem to mind the show. It excites everybody to get something new to look at when they least expect it." That was true; all of Forks was so monotonous and repetitive that when someone got their braces off, it was the talk of the town.

"Listen, Amy, there's a reason why I came out here to talk to you. Two reasons, actually. One, I'm very sorry for the way I've been treating you lately. It hasn't been fair to you, especially since you don't even know the reason for my rudeness." Rosalie put her head down and wrapped her arms behind her back. She waited for my response, but I had a difficult time finding anyway to react to her unexpected confession. I could tell she was becoming more worried with every second that I was silent. "Are you angry with me?"

This snapped me out of my quiet state. "Oh no, not at all! I accept your apology! I'm just surprised, that's all."

"I thought you would be. I never apologize for my behavior, so you're the lucky first! But, I hope we can put this aside and still become friends."

"Rosalie, I would like nothing more than that," I agreed with a beaming smile. "But, you said there were two reasons that you came to talk to me. What's the other one?"

"Well…" she paused, giving me a wry smile. "I was talking with Jasper, and he spilt on the little blurb between you two earlier. He wanted me to tell you how sorry he is, and that he hopes this doesn't affect your date tonight."

"Why couldn't he just tell me himself?"

"Because, he cares for you Amy. A lot. He's never cared for a hum…person as much as you, and these new emotions are scaring him. Having to deal with that puts a lot on his plate. Jasper is trying to find his way along this confusing path, but if you're not angry with him, it will definitely put him at ease."

Wow, Jasper cared about me? And in a platonic friendly way? Why didn't I see this? I'd assumed that he liked me and liked to talk to me, but I never dreamed of this. Knowing the way Jasper felt made my stomach flip over, and I felt like I just rode an insane rollercoaster. I still considered my intense guilt for making me mad in the first place; Jasper's apologies made me feel worse.

"But, I'm not mad at him, Rosalie. If he only knew how stupid I felt! Will you please tell him for me that I'm madder at myself, and not him! I could never be angry with him. Please tell him for me," I pleaded.

Rosalie's attractive features lit up with my admittance of idiocy. "Sure. It's not like we have any secrets anyway. Amy, if only you knew how much he cares for you! How much we all do! Alice and Emmett…" I think I could hear a note of animosity there, "and Edward, and now myself! Carlisle and Esme both care about you too, after all that Jasper's told them about you!" Then Rosalie did something that totally threw me off guard; she reached out with her stone arms and pulled me into a friendly embrace. Something in Rosalie's manner of kindness made me want to start crying, but I had to hold it in. I wouldn't want to trouble her with my personal issues. I slowly drew myself away and smiled at Rosalie. She was trying hard to be nice, and I appreciated it.

"Oh, and Amy," Rosalie blurted, like she just remembered to say something. "No offense, but you look like a mess. Would you like me to drive you home?"

"Rosalie, you will be my own personal angel if you did that." That wasn't entirely true; my angel would always be Jasper.

"Okay then, hop on in!" She was already on the driver's side of the BMW and striking up the engine. I quickly clambered into the apple convertible to avoid her taking off without me. The second I shut the door, we were already whirring down the main highway.

"So, tell me about yourself!" Rosalie cheerfully said. It made me giggle to hear her act so pleasant.

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, I'm guessing that you didn't originally live here, since you're so tan. Tell me about your previous life."

"You mean before it turned into a hell hole?"

"If that's it in your words, then yes."

"Okay, well I lived in California until I was twelve. My house was in this little seaside town called Carlsbad, right on the beach. I could go to the beach and spend eternity down there." My voice had begun to waver with overwhelming homesickness. I rapidly shook my head to get rid of the nausea and continued. "I would go boogie boarding the minute I got home from school. I was pretty fearless out there in the water, and it was a huge contrast to how shy I was in school."

"What happened to the fearlessness?"

I let out a slightly hysterical laugh. "Have you noticed the extreme weather conditions?"

Rosalie chuckled a low, musical sound. "Now that you mention it, I see your point."

"But, it doesn't matter now anyway. The only way I keep myself busy is by reading and writing," I shrugged. Compared to my preteen years, my life was boring and monotonous.

"Oh? What do you write?"

"Umm, mostly short stories and poems. Nothing major; they're not that good," I added, just in case Rosalie was planning to read them or ask to see them.

She just shrugged like the notion didn't bother her. "It's more so a matter of opinion. You can't tell if it's good or not unless you let someone read your work."

"Still, I don't think I could take it if someone didn't like it. And if they told me that would suck even more, so I'd rather just keep them to myself."

"If you insist. I personally would enjoy them, if you ever decide to allow it." I bit my lip and vigorously shook my head. You would have to pry my works from my dead hands.

"Well, we're here!" Rosalie cheerfully exclaimed. I looked out the passenger window, confused, and saw that we were indeed parked on my driveway. I sighed, disappointed that I was forced to end the surprisingly agreeable conversation. Rosalie could be very nice if you let her talk to you, even though vanity was definitely present in her demeanor.

"Okay then. Well, thanks for the ride. I owe you one," I said as I slowly departed from Rosalie's toasty ride.

"Trust me. You're already paying off your debt in ways you wouldn't believe imaginable!" Rosalie smiled and quickly pulled out with a wave. I stood in the center of the driveway for a few minutes, utterly bewildered by her parting words. What did she mean when she said that I was paying off my debt? How had I possibly helped her the little weeks I'd known her?

I came back out of my reverie as my phone started vibrating in my jeans pocket. I checked the caller ID; it was Mom. "Hello?"

"Oh good Amy! Listen I've got something really important to tell you, but you can't freak out, okay?"

"All right, I'm listening…" I trailed. The fact she had told me not to freak out made a panic start to rise in my chest.

"Well, I met a really nice man today! His name is Ben, and he's one of my assistant DA's." She paused, probably to listen for any reaction.

For some reason the silence irritated me, so I snapped, "And what?"

Mom must have been holding her breath because she let out an exuberant sigh. "I met up with him for a meeting earlier, and we got to talking, and before I knew it, he asked me to dinner tonight! Isn't that wonderful?"

"WHAT?!" I shrieked. "No! No, no, no! How could you? What will Dad think?"

"Honey, calm down. You know your father and I are still good friends. We're just not the perfect…married couple."

"So what, you're just going to start dating again? So soon? Gonna get married to some bonehead and move in with him and share our house with him and have babies with him? Are you out of your mind?" Nothing was stopping my rant now. Mom had called at the wrong time, and I was going to let her have it.

"Whoa, Amy! You're getting way ahead of yourself!" Mom reprimanded. "It's just one date, that doesn't mean I'm going to marry him!"

A few tears escaped from my eyelids. How dare she do this to Dad? How dare she do this to me? Didn't I get a say in this? Apparently not, or Mom would have asked for my opinion long before this.

"That's exactly what it means!" I was full on sobbing now.

"Ugh! Why do you do this to me? It's my choice, and you can't stop me! I'm going on this date whether you like it or not!" Mom was screaming in frustration at me now. Now I had two people whom I cared about angry with me; this was something I couldn't deal with at the moment.

I sighed and stopped the racking sobs. "Fine, do what you want," I whispered, defeated. I snapped the phone shut; Mom would have begun to excessively apologize for upsetting me, and that would not help my current state of depression.

I checked my watch and realized I only had a few hours to get ready for the dance. Now, I wasn't on the personal high I was experiencing when Jasper had asked me to go with him. I was inwardly convincing myself that tonight would be awkward, and worrying that despite Jasper's forgiveness, he would change his mind. Not that I could blame him if that happened. But now, I'm in too deep. I liked Jasper way too much, more than I should. I couldn't bear it if I wasn't friends with him anymore; he was the only reason I faced school everyday, and talked so much.

I shot up the stairs into my room and almost tripped over a misplaced book. I picked it up and smoothed the cover, and tossed it onto my bed. I decided that I should probably clean up my space a bit, so I took an hour to rummage through my belongings and organize them. By the time the hour passed, I could actually see my floors, and every shelf in my bookcase was stuffed with all my reading material. I'd never had any idea I'd owned so many books.

Soon after my cleaning spree I felt a buzz in my pocket. I whipped my phone out, thinking it was Mom again, ready to beg forgiveness over and over.

"Oh god, Mom, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean anything I said, I swear!" I cried.

"Umm, Amy?"

"Oh. Sorry Alice, I thought you were my Mom! What's up?" I smacked my forehead out of my blunder. I should have thought to check caller ID.

"Just remember to be out front at four o'clock okay? I've got a makeover to pull off, and it'll only work if you're there! Oh, and bring the dress I bought you, got it?" She was rapidly spitting out directions, and I listened hard enough to catch most of what she said. I'd almost forgotten Alice had taken care of my Homecoming expenses; as she was speaking I'd wandered over to my closet and brought out the shopping bags filled with shoes, clothes, and accessories.

"Sure Alice. I'll be outside in an hour." I heard a click at the other end and threw my phone on the bed. I quickly jumped after it and lay on my mattress for what seemed like eternity.

The silence was maddening; I switched on my iPod and let the music sway and rock through my body. I closed my eyes and completely ignored everything around me; I didn't pay attention to the pounding rain now falling outside, and the constant buzzing coming from my phone. I turned up the rhythms so loud that thinking was impossible.

I must have drifted asleep because I awoke to the doorbell ringing. Shoot, Alice was here! I leaped off my bed and dove into the closet for my things and jumped down the stairs. Alice wasn't as impatient as Jasper; she waited noiselessly on the other side of the door. I checked the mirror by the living room and decided I looked decent. Alice would fix that; maybe she could change me from a pumpkin to a princess. God knows how much work that would take…

I took a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart and appear like I've been waiting like I'd promised. I knew it wouldn't fool Alice, but it couldn't hurt to try. It might hurt her feelings that I'd almost forgotten about my makeover.

I swung the door open to a rather cheerful looking Alice Cullen. "Hey Alice! You ready?"

"Of course!" she chirped back. She lightly graced the sidewalk to Carlisle's Mercedes and hopped in the passenger door.

"Umm, Alice? Aren't you supposed to drive?" I lamely stood rooted by the curb, unsure of what action to take.

"Oh no, today is your day to drive!" My mouth fell open, in shock and a little bit of joy at being offered to drive one of the most expensive cars on the market.

"Are you sure? What if I crash it?"

"Don't worry about it; it's replaceable should that happen. Now come on, we're wasting valuable time here!" she shouted to get me moving faster. She didn't need to tell me twice; I eagerly stepped into the warm sedan and clicked the leather seatbelt. Ah yes, I could get used to this…

I revved the engine to get a feel of the motor; it purred quietly in response, and I knew I could never leave this car. Ever. I smiled and set my stare in direction of the highway.

"I'll let you know when to turn onto our drive okay?" Alice piped.

I nodded and put the car into Drive and sped away from my house. It only took a minute for it to be completely out of sight; this car had serious mileage. I was going so fast I almost didn't notice Alice tugging my shoulder.

"Amy! It's right here!"

"Oh, sorry Alice." I made a sharp turn onto a familiar dirt path and continued down the winding road. Soon enough, a white home loomed among the trees.

I pulled in front of the porch and carefully climbed out of my new favorite car; I didn't want to damage it in some inadvertent way. I led Alice to the front door and opened it, stepping into the Cullen living room.

This time, no one was here to greet us, and I didn't want to announce my arrival. Mostly because I didn't want to upset Esme; her friendly introduction seemed strained the last time we met, and she kind of intimidated me.

Alice looped her arm through mine and pulled me upstairs, an area I hadn't explored yet. I didn't get time to look through the first two stories. "We'll do that later. Keep up!" she kept reminding me.

We must have climbed a million stairs before we reached the third floor where Alice's room was. Her room was at the far end of the corridor. I could barely hear heavy metal music blasting from the room across from it, but didn't get a chance to ask Alice who was in there.

She impatiently pulled me into her room, which is the epitome of a girl's room. Frilly and pink, with lace. Posters of boys and singers adorned the walls, and shelves piled with fashion magazines were in the far corner. The bedspread didn't even look like it was from the U.S. Her vanity was decorated completely with different foreign cosmetics and accessories. But that was just her bedroom. Her bathroom was a different story…

Makeup was everywhere! On the counters, in the drawers, by the bathtub and shower, even some on the floor. Alice led me to a lone chair in front of a mirror and forcefully pushed me down into it.

"Okay Amy, are you ready to be transformed?"

I sighed at her apparent dramatics. However, I was beginning to get a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach; mentally I was preparing for when this wouldn't go well.

"I'm ready. Have away with me," I told her.

"When I'm finished with you, there won't be a boy in school who won't notice you!" she declared. And then the session began.

* * *


	7. Unusual Homecoming

**Okay, so here is Chapter 7! I hope you enjoy it and leave lots of nice reviews for it! Thanks and keep reviewing; you guys are who I write this stuff for!!**

* * *

I don't know how Alice had managed it, but my appearance actually looked as if it had evidence that a miracle was performed

I don't know how Alice had managed it, but my appearance actually looked as if it had evidence that a miracle was performed. I'd seen for myself Alice's magic, but I was unconvinced of any beauty, or actual improvement. I didn't believe her when she gushed about how "pretty" and "stunning" I was. She was supposed to say that; either she was appeasing my self-confidence, or she wasn't satisfied herself and was calling me undeserving names to make herself feel better.

I had butterflies in my stomach when I slowly walked down the seemingly never-ending stairs to greet Jasper. I was worried I wouldn't be good enough for him, and that Alice's efforts had been wasted. Alice stood by my side, giving me encouraging glances and squeezing my shoulder in reassurance. I wasn't prepared to find six pairs of molten gold eyes staring back at me at the bottom of the steps.

We stood in silence for a minute or so, the shock and wonder obvious on their faces, and the embarrassment on mine. Alice started fidgeting with her hands and thrust me forward out of impatience. She caught me by surprise as I tripped over the edge of an Oriental carpet and almost fell. A pair of stone cold arms were there to prevent any harm.

Jasper steadied me upright and chuckled at my newly-flushed face. I weakly smiled back and bit my lip, then quickly stopped, remembering the lipstick Alice had thickly applied.

"Good evening, Miss Valen," he smoothly greeted. Jasper; always the gentleman.

"Good evening, Mr. Cullen," I said, poorly attempting to use the same suave manner.

Emmett stepped out of the family line and mockingly bowed. He looked flattering in a tuxedo and bright red bowtie. Knowing Emmett, it was the perfect touch to make the outfit more…Emmett. Bright, goofy, and loving. I playfully curtsied and stumbled as I bent low to the ground, receiving a snort from the Hulk.

"Amy, dear, you look positively radiant!" Esme complimented me. I blushed and looked down at the ground.

I felt a careful nudge at my arm and noticed Rosalie had unknowingly waltzed to my side. She gave me a genuine grin and remarked, "She's right. I've never seen anyone more beautiful."

"Thanks Rosalie. You too Esme," I added, "even though I don't deserve it, I appreciate it."

Carlisle walked up to me and gave me a one-armed hug. I'd never had any physical contact with Carlisle before, and I instinctively flinched when his freezing skin touched mine. "Nothing compares to you at this moment," he whispered in my ear. The elegant curls Alice had created tickled my face as his breath mingled with it. I let out a giggle before I could stop myself.

The only one who hadn't acknowledged me was Edward; he was quietly standing by the piano, like he was trying not to be noticed. I don't know what made me do it, but I confidently strode up to him and held up my hand. His eyebrows arched; he must have never heard of a high five.

"It's called a high five. You deserve one for all your help," I said to him. I saw the corners of his mouth twitch with a slight smile as he raised his hand to mine and slapped it. He let lots of his strength into his high five, and my hand turned red and started to throb. I winced at the sudden slash of pain cutting through my palm.

He smirked. "Oops, I guess I need more practice. Sorry about that Amy."

"No problem," I painfully grunted. I tried to wiggle my fingers and almost gasped at the intense ache. Jasper was by my side and tenderly felt for any break.

"Just a sprain, I think," he mused. "Carlisle, can you fit a brace on it?"

My eyes widened. "No, it's fine! I don't need a brace, it doesn't hurt that bad! Really, I'm fine!" I turned to Carlisle, looking for some agreement, but he'd already disappeared to his office upstairs. In no time he'd returned with a hand brace.

"Crap!" I hissed. If Alice had worked so hard to create an illusion of beauty, it was destroyed now with the bulky Velcro cast.

"It will barely take a minute," Carlisle said. He carefully adjusted the brace to fit my hand and held it up to observe it. "That will do for now," he said quietly, I think more so to himself. Looking at me he instructed, "You'll need to come back to see me in about a week, just so I can observe the healing. Would you prefer to see me at the hospital or here?"

I cringed at the thought of visiting the hospital. I hadn't been to one since I broke my leg when I was six, and my parents would surely freak if I had to go back. "Here, please!"

He nodded and set my hand down so I could latch it to my side.

"So, are you ready to go?" Jasper held out his arm for me to take and led me to the front door. Emmett, Rosalie, and Alice had crowded behind us, wishing us goodbye. I broke from Jasper's grip and strangled Alice in a bear hug.

"Thank you so much. This night wouldn't be possible without you!" I thanked her. Alice squeezed me back and released me. "I'll be there right behind you. Save me a dance!"

I quickly said goodbye to everyone else and ran out the door to catch up with Jasper, who had already pulled up the Mercedes and was holding the passenger door open for me. Once he'd shut the door behind me and climbed in, we were whirring down the highway to Forks High School.

"So," he began after a few minutes of silence, "are you excited?"

"More or less. Mostly incredulous," I stated. It was unbelievable to be going to a school dance with your best friend, who just also happens to be amazingly gorgeous, sweet, caring, and everything I could possibly want in a friend.

"Oh? And why is that?" I told him my reasons as I'd thought of them, which made him laugh.

"You hold me to incredible standards. I'm not any of those traits you mentioned."

"That's not true. I bet it's just because, you being a guy, you're in denial and aren't used to when girls use girly adjectives to describe you." I smiled at my assessment of his personality, which he contemplated for a few seconds.

"You're probably right," he agreed. Finally, an argument I'd won! It must be my lucky night! I decided that maybe I should risk my lucky streak to ask him what had been perturbing my mind since this morning. I knew it might ruin his good mood, but I was too curious, and I had to know.

"So, would you like to tell me what this morning was about?" I tried. Jasper went rigid in his seat and didn't answer immediately. He sighed and shook his head.

"Not now, Amy. Another time, please," he pleaded. I fiddled with my newly manicured hands and stared ahead at the dark road. Soon we passed the sign signaling the entrance to the school parking lot. He hadn't added any explanation, and I'd come not to expect one. It pained me to see him upset with me, so it felt better just to let it go.

Once we'd parked, Jasper loped around the front of the car and helped me out of my seat. I could see he was trying to forget his bad mood and make the evening enjoyable for me, but I felt it was my fault he was this way. I quietly whispered, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Don't worry about it. I will explain it in due time." He flashed a smile and I immediately felt better and let him walk me into the gym.

The Student Council had done a tolerable job with the decorating considering the very limited budget. Some of the paper mache flowers were a little over the top, but Jasper led me out of sight of any of them. We'd just found an empty table when the rest of the Cullens, with the exception of Carlisle and Esme, gracefully walked up to us. I was struck with full force by their perfection; if I was alone with one of them I could handle it, but the whole group of them combined was too much. I had to look away once my eyes started to hurt from looking at their glowing beauty.

"Amy!" Alice squealed. She was wearing a black satin halter dress with sequins over the bust area. Her snow-white skin contrasted perfectly with the dark fabric of her dress. Alice quickly stole the seat next to mine before Jasper could sit down. Jasper gave her a disgruntled glare and reluctantly sat down across from me. I winked at him to let him know I hadn't forgotten he was my date, even though it was apparent Alice had. His lips turned into a crooked smile, which made me smile even bigger.

"Alice, I hope you haven't forgotten that Jasper's my date," I told her.

"Of course I didn't! But he can't have you all to himself tonight; he has to share with the rest of us!" Rosalie and Emmett took the last seats and grinned at me. I noticed Edward wasn't with them, which left me slightly depressed. I picked up on what the Cullens were discussing at the moment so I didn't appear rude.

The first half of the evening didn't require any movement on our parts, except for when Emmett went and got us drinks after flirting with a pretty porcelain brunette girl from my History class. Rosalie glared daggers at his back, but smoothed her face into one of indifference when he returned. We all just talked about anything that was on our minds; I found out so much about them that I hadn't known before.

Emmett has a rather strange obsession with Polly Pocket dolls, which Rosalie told me with a stream of hysterical laughter. Emmett tried to defend himself. "It's good for my creativity! Who knows, when I have children, they'll be the best dressed girls on the whole freaking planet!"

"Why don't you leave that department to me?" Rosalie countered. I had to laugh, since Alice and Jasper were already cracking up. Emmett looked sullen and pouted for a few minutes, but animatedly rejoined the conversation when Alice's pet peeve was mentioned.

"So what if I have a deathly fear of coconuts? I've always known them to fall on your head and cause brain injuries; that's just how I was raised!" she retorted.

"Alice, don't look behind you! There's a palm tree growing above your head!" Emmett teased, and then hugged his abdomen to contain the pain the uncontrollable laughter was causing. Alice didn't react to his comment, instead just stuck out her tongue and turned to me.

"Come on Amy, let's go dance!" I didn't get to answer as she forcefully tugged me onto the middle of the dance floor.

A few of the couples stopped dancing as we intruded on their inner circle; it was mostly the boys. All of them gaped at me and stared with ogling eyes. It made me beyond nervous and self-conscious; was there something on my face?

"They're staring because you're the most beautiful looking thing out here!" Alice laughed at my stupidity. I just stood there and shook my head furiously.

She nodded in return. "It's true! Now bust a move and make them all turn their heads!" Alice took my hand and spun me so hard that I backed into a couple who hadn't been paying attention to the scene playing out in front of them.

"I'm sorry, excuse me!" I apologized, and hurriedly ran back to Jasper's table. Of course, I couldn't reach sanctuary before gaining more unwanted attention, as I tripped on the edge of the dance floor and flew straight forward towards the tile. No one was there to catch me this time.

I flung out my hands instinctively to stop my momentum and landed on my sprained hand. That certainly wouldn't aid the healing process. I didn't break it, but I could feel my hand swelling inside my brace.

A figure was by my side in an instant. "Are you alright?"

I grunted a "Yeah" and tried to push myself off the dirty gym floor. A pair of warm hands helped me to my feet. My heart sunk a little bit; it wasn't Jasper who had come to rescue me.

"Are you sure? You look like you bruised your arm pretty badly." I turned to face the mystery man; it was not the person I expected to see. Or wanted to see, for that matter.

"Oh, hi Mike." I grimaced at my luck. It had plummeted from sky high to rock bottom in the last hour and a half.

"Amy Valen? Is that you? I didn't recognize you! You look so pretty!"

I laughed at the insult, even though he obviously hadn't been thinking and meant for it to sound that way.

"Thanks, I guess…"

"No, no!" Mike stammered. "Oh, God…I didn't mean it like that…"

"It's fine," I brushed it off. He hung his head, looking ashamed for what he said. We stood in silence for a minute, neither of us knowing how to continue such a badly-started conversation. Luckily we didn't need to; Alice came bounding up at inhuman speed with a concerned expression mixed with amusement on her face.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" she shrieked. My mouth dropped open; she had to scream that as loud as possible for everyone to hear. At first I was happy it was just Mike who had witnessed my moment of clumsiness; now the entire gym would know.

Alice gingerly lifted my arm to examine it, which meant Mike was pushed out of the way by my side. She bent forward to look closely, and whispered so only I could hear, "It's time for you to step into the spotlight."

Was she insane? No, I already knew the answer to that one. She was clinically mental. Fanatical. Crazy.

"Alice, let go of me. I just want to sit back down," I hissed at her. She giggled and shook her head at my demand.

"Tsk, tsk, Amy! Don't you remember that you're at a dance? With a date? Who would very much like to dance with you?" She sidestepped from my view to reveal Jasper striding to my side in her place.

He held out his hand. "Would you like to dance?"

"I…I…don't think I can!" I panicked. Still, I placed my hand in his, and he led me back to the center. The DJ had begun playing a slow song, and Jasper seemed to know just what to do. He wound his arm around my waist as we waltzed to the beat of the number.

I stepped on his feet numerous times as we danced; he didn't even flinch. I would lose hope every time my toes crunched atop of his, but my spirits were quickly lifted when he shrugged it off and held me in a position where I wasn't able to reach the ground. He had picked me up, and I was soaring through the air with my best friend right next to me.

We danced like this for who knows how long. A couple of times another guy would ask to cut in, Mike included, but I politely refused. I wanted to spend the rest of the night with my comforting, caring friend. And when he'd refused almost every girl in the gym when they'd interrupted, I think he felt the same way. We were in our own little world, where no one could get in, and we couldn't get out.

Once the DJ had halted the music to announce who the Homecoming King and Queen were, Jasper and I unwillingly broke out of our state of calm movement and sat back down with his brother and sisters. I quickly stood back up and walked over to the refreshment table to get a drink. My throat was feeling immensely dry from laughing so much. I couldn't remember a time when I had laughed so much with friends.

I wasn't even paying attention to who was being pronounced the royalty of Forks High School. Personally, I didn't care for crowning ceremonies at dances; they were all just popularity contests based on how good you look and how many friends you have to rig the voting. I sat back against the table and chuckled to myself when some boy who was the starting quarterback on the varsity football team was called up to the stage and given a plastic piece of crap to wear on his head. He showed it off to the school like it was a priceless gemstone.

For some reason, my body tensed when the DJ started ripping the envelope to announce who the Queen was. I'd always inwardly wished that I could be popular enough to have something like this bestowed on me, despite my dislike for them. What girl wouldn't like to know that the whole school liked you enough to vote you one of the top positions the school had to offer? Once the DJ scanned the paper for the name, my heart sunk into my stomach once I realized that I could never be good enough for something like this, no matter what my friends told me.

"And this year's Homecoming Queen is…" the DJ paused for a dramatic suspense.

I couldn't even hear the name; all of a sudden a bright light flashed on me, blinding my sight. A round of applause and dog whistles filled the air as I looked back and forth between the DJ and my cup of punch. Oh no, it couldn't be…

"He means you!" Alice had appeared next to me somehow in an instant, jumping up and down with excitement. "Get up there!" She shoved me forward into the crowd. My feet finally found out how to walk again as I nervously walked up the stage and to the DJ, who had the fakest smile plastered on his face and was holding out another plastic piece of crap, just for me. He jammed it on my head and pushed me next to the quarterback, who had the stupidest grin on his face; he must have laced his drink with something. His breath reeked of alcohol.

The DJ screamed something at the crowd; I couldn't tell what he said, it sounded like a load of gibberish to me. Some music started up as the quarterback roughly grabbed my waist and began swaying me back and forth to the beat. I looked up into his face, which was contorted into a rather psychotic expression.

Then he started breathing really heavily, panting almost. Like he wanted something really bad, but an unknown force was restraining him from taking it. The alcohol rolled off his breath in gusts; soon my head was starting to feel dizzy. All the air I was breathing was from him, and my senses became diluted quickly. Lightheadedness consumed my entire body; I tried to push away from him to gain more space and cleaner air. He wasn't having that. He coughed into my face, and that was the detonator. I slumped to the floor and hit my head hard; I could hear a crack against the stage. Quarterback was too much of a drunken idiot to catch me, or even help me regain stability. I fainted to the shouts of confused students, and an idiotic laugh from my Homecoming King.


	8. Jasper's Decision

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, but I've been really busy lately with reading Breaking Dawn (ahh, so amazing!) and reading my summer list for school and entertaining family, so I'm pooped! Anyway, enjoy this chapter from Jasper's POV! The more reviews, the faster I update! So please please please PLEASE review! And thanks!**

I just stared at the perfect girl lying on the other side of the glass. Asleep, and devastatingly beautiful. All dressed up for an evening of harmless fun, but is anything ever harmless anymore? The heart monitor beeped with her every heart beat, which my ears were now attuned to more than ever. Honestly, she had just been knocked unconscious; in my opinion all the expensive hospital gadgets weren't necessary. But Carlisle had insisted on it, as a formality. "She did hit her head hard," he had reminded me.

My enhanced eyesight caught her lifting her finger and trying to open her lips to say something. I wanted to break through the door and rush to her side, hold her hand and apologize relentlessly for all that happened. My feet began following my train of thought, but a hand on my shoulder restrained me from moving.

"Let her sleep it off. She'll be as good as new in a few hours," Carlisle said.

I was tired of everyone saying I couldn't go to Amy's side, that I couldn't be with her when she needed me. I shook off his hand. "I need to be with her, Carlisle. Why can't you understand that?"

Amy began mumbling in her solitary quarters. I think I heard her moan my name. That was all I needed to break the conversation with the doctor and walk quickly to her motionless body. I lifted her limp hand and gave it a gentle pressure. I brushed the loose hair off her forehead and kissed it.

"I'm here, Amy. Can you hear me?" I whispered into her ear. Her lips formed into a small smile, like she was happy in her sleep to hear my voice.

"Mmm…Jasper," she mumbled. My hand cupped her warm, tan cheek as she started to say my name over and over again. I rubbed soothing circles with my thumb on the dimples that had appeared when she'd smiled.

I had remembered to hold my breath before entering her room, but became careless and took a deep breath. Fire in my throat ensued as I felt venom dripping from my teeth. She smelled like the ocean mist; calm, soothing, and perfect. I could feel my pupils dilate and move to her heart, where the blood was pulsing and branching out to her veins. I slid my hand down to her freckled throat, thinking how easy it would be to kill her, and then enjoy her. The newborn in me did not appreciate her taunting me with her scent, flaunting her immobility. It would be too easy. But, looking at the innocence of her face, and the laughing set of her jaw, the light sprinkle of brown freckles across her cheeks and nose, I knew I could never bring myself to do that to her. To take away a life that she had yet to fulfill.

Her eyelids fluttered suddenly, and all thoughts of murder were erased from my mind. What Amy needed was a comforter, not a psychotic vampire literally dying to taste her. I stared at her for minutes while waiting for her to open her eyes.

I took the liberty of inspecting the damage to her head and grimaced when I beheld a rather large, swelling bump near the back of her head. You wouldn't have known from the thump her head made on impact that an injury of that size could have been made. An immense wave of guilt stung my heart as I shuddered; it was all my fault. If I hadn't asked the students counting votes to pull them in Amy's favor, this wouldn't have happened. Damn my powers of persuasion!

I felt a squeeze on my hand holding Amy's, and turned to find a pair of unbelievably dazzling blue eyes. But, they weren't just blue; there was brown, and hazel, and green, and yellow. Never had there been a more beautiful and fitting pair of eyes for a perfect girl.

"Hey," she said weakly.

"Hey yourself." She smiled at my casual tone, flipping a switch inside of me that made me instantly smile back.

"Good, I was afraid you would be worried about me," she said in a relieved tone. If only she knew how worried I was; my insides were churning with concern, but I had only assumed that not making it a big deal would assuage her. Now she was trying to comfort me. Because SHE was worried about me.

"And how do you know I'm not worried about you?" I teased.

She laughed. If I still had a heart, it would be jumping out of my chest at this moment. Amy's laugh was one of the most pure sounds in the entire universe, vying head to head with my Alice's.

She just shrugged nonchalantly. "I can see it in your eyes. You knew I would be all right, so no reason to worry, right?"

"No, I actually had a major reason to worry about you, and a very good one at that."

"What was it?" The question played in her eyes as they sparkled with curiosity. I almost laughed at how simple the answer to it would seem to her, when to me, it was my entire emotional unit.

"I was afraid there would be damage to your head. If you could see the swelling mass on the back of your head right now, you would see my point," I added when the doubt at my normal explanation sprung up in her face.

"Oh, I'm sure it's not that bad. I feel fine!" She flopped her head back onto the pillow as if to prove her point, then winced when she hit her sensitive spot. She quickly hid the pain on her face by twisting it into a hysterical laugh. "See," she giggled, "perfectly fine!"

I just rolled my eyes at her strained attempt to fake recovery. She looked up at me from beneath her thick black eyelashes and smiled apologetically, for trying to deceive me when it didn't work, I suppose.

The door opened behind me and Carlisle walked in with Amy's medical charts. "All right, Ms. Valen," he started while examining the results of some tests he'd used on her, "it seems there was no internal damage to your head, but there is going to be a bruise there for the next few weeks or so."

I could feel her sigh in relief, and my own also. Carlisle looked up from her charts to give me a quizzical glance, and then returned to Amy.

"I'm going to sign your release. If you feel any dizziness, or nausea, or extreme head pains, you must come back and see me. I'm going to prescribe you for a few painkillers to help the pain, all right?" My father signed his name to the chart and held it out for her to sign as well. Amy smiled as she seemed to compare her handwriting to Carlisle's. There was no comparison; of course, Amy's sleek and loping cursive won my vote.

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen," she beamed and hopped off the bed. She staggered from the quick movement and almost fell back, but Carlisle and I steadied her enough for her to stand on her own.

"Jasper," Carlisle addressed me, "would you mind driving Ms. Valen home, seeing as she does not have a car?"

"Sure." I grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her outside the oppressive hospital room with haste. I was itching to get out of there; Amy's scent was beginning to burn my throat again, with the small room holding in all that she gave off. I called over my shoulder, "See you at home!"

We raced to the parking lot and quickly drove off. Amy was breathing heavily at having run to the car, but her smile calmed my nerves. "Thank you," she breathed.

"You're welcome." My breathing had not been affected by the slow jog.

"Tell me something Jasper," Amy asked suddenly. "What was the real reason you were so worried about me?"

"What, a friend can't be worried about another friend being in the hospital?" I joked. She did not laugh at my attempt at humor. Her blue eyes stared straight into my soul, feeding off my emotions and expressions.

"Please?" she pleaded.

Oh well, it wouldn't hurt. "I was afraid I would lose you. That would be the absolute worse thing that could happen to me in this lifetime."

Amy's mouth dropped open at my sudden honesty. "Jasper, it's just a head injury. You wouldn't lose me for that." She put a hand over mine and shivered at my cold body temperature. My hand warmed instantly at the contact.

"You never know," I said darkly. "I've seen much more inconsequential injuries cause death before. Tiny scratches, little bruises, even a canker sore. You can never know what will kill you, and I would never take that chance with you."

"I never said you would," she said defensively.

I groaned. "Why can't you just accept a final answer? Why does everything have to be so complicated for you? Some things are just simple; that's the way they are. Not everything is made to be as difficult as it seems for you!"

"I'm sorry Jasper, but it's called instinct!" she argued. "I can tell when you're being evasive with me, like this morning, and earlier tonight, when I asked about my backpack. Why can't YOU keep it simple and just tell me the truth!"

"Fine!" I snapped. I swerved the car carelessly, made an illegal U-turn in the middle of the highway, and drove head on into the woods. The ground made for a bumpy ride, and the tension in the air only heightened the terrifying feeling boiling in the pit of my stomach. I had to tell her now. She was already suspecting something wasn't right, and if I didn't say something about it, she would only press me until I let up. Besides, this was more than she deserved from me.

After ten minutes of our off-road expedition, I stopped the car with sudden force. Amy bounced back into her seat and grunted when she situated into a more comfortable position. She turned to face me, and the fury was obvious in her eyes.

"What the hell was that?" she shrieked.

"I'm sorry, but I have something to tell you. I brought you out here so if you scream, no one will hear you and be worried," I tried to explain. Then I realized how my words could be twisted to imply that I was going to do something to her, something horrible. Amy's eyes widening in fear confirmed my errant thought.

"Listen to me, Amy. What I'm about to tell you, you must never repeat to anyone. Your life depends on it. Do you understand me?" I instructed her. My military side was beginning to surface, as it was detectable in my tone. Amy gave a small nod.

I opened my mouth to speak and tell her of my true identity.


End file.
